Elastically suspended and controlled game device



March 1970 J. E. CARTER; JR 3,

ELASTICALLY SUSPENDED AND CONTROLLED GAME DEVICE Filed Junes, 1968 INVENTOR. Jol /N 5 64mm ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,498,614 Patented Mar. 3, 1970 3,498,614 ELASTICALLY SUSPENDED AND CONTROLLED GAME DEVICE John Elton Carter, Jr., Wilmington, Del., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Wham- Mfg. Co., San Gabriel,

Calif., a corporation of California Filed June 5, 1968, Ser. No. 734,626 Int. Cl. A63b 69/40 U.S. Cl. 27395 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Game device comprising an elongated resilient game piece of a size to be readily clamped between the knees of a player, said game piece being secured centrally of an elongated elastic strand of the order of three yards long, and the elasticity of said strand being such as to permit elongation to at least six times its length, whereby two players standing about three yards apart holding opposed ends of said strand with the game piece suspended between them slightly above the ground can, by skillful manipulation of said strand, cause migrations of the game piece from such midway position to positions of alignment with a player permitting the catching of the game piece between the knees. The game piece comprises two resilent parts each smoothly rounded and apertured at one end with the elastic strand passing therethrough, the other ends of said parts having inwardly extending ribs engaging an annularly grooved center plug for joining the parts together, with said strand frictionally engaged between said assembled parts and plug.

The game device of the present invention is intended primarily as a game for two players providing fun and exercise while developing skill and dexterity. It is simple and inexpensive in production and by reason of its unique nature lends itself to varied entertaining uses beyond the prime purpose for which it is intended.

The construction and intended use of the device will be described with references to the accompanying drawing, in which both use and structure are illustrated in the several views with the various parts and components of the device identified by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic showing of the device as it might be oriented with respect to two players at the start and finish of a contest with the device.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the device drawn approximately to full scale with part of the structure broken away and in section.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view looking in the direction of arrows 3, 3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the coupling parts of the device as shown in FIG. 2.

The game device as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises an elongated tubular body suitably made up of two similar axially aligned parts 11, 11' having rounded ends 12, 12 with central apertures 13, 13 through which an elongated elastic strand 14 passes. The parts 11, 11 are maintained in axial assemblage by a plug 15, suitably of tubular construction as shown, telescopically engaging inner surfaces of the other ends 16, 16 of said parts.

In order to facilitate positive positioning of the plug it is provided with an annular groove 17 having beveled sides 18, 18' into which inwardly extending beads or ribs 19, 19 on the tubular ends 16, 16' can fit as clearly shown on an enlarged scale in FIG. 4 of the drawing.

The tubular parts 11, 11 are preferably molded from relatively resilient plastic material. A suitable material, for example, is low density polyethylene (.915-.925 gr./ cc.) although it will be apparent many other types of moldable plastic can also be used. The center plug 15 is also suitably molded from plastic material which may be the same plastic as used in the body parts 11, 11' or a different plastic. The polyethylene above mentioned has a resilience and deformability which permits the ribs 19, 19 to be forceably moved over the plug 15 for snap engagement with the groove 17. It will be recognized, however, that the optimum size of the ribs 19, 19 and groove 17 may vary somewhat depending upon the particular moldable plastic used in forming the tubular parts 11, 11'.

The elastic strand 14 should be approximately nine feet long with its midpoint secured within the device by the plug 15. The strand can be anchored to the plug 15 in various ways, but it has been found that the simplest and highly effective anchoring means is to merely dispose the strand 14 between the tubular parts 11, 11', and the plug 15 as they are brought into telescopic engagement. By applying slight tension to the strand 14 as the assemblage is being made the strand 14 will follow the contour of the interengaged ribs 19, 19' and groove 17 as clearly shown in FIG. 4, thereby positively positioning the strand. In making this assemblage there is a slight outward deformation of tubular parts 11, 11' as indicated in 11 in FIG. 3, but this is so slight as to be hardly noticeable on the assembled device.

The elastic strand 14 is suitably monofiliment rubber known in the trade as elastic thread or rubber thread. It can suitably be of rectangular cross-section about 7 wide and & thick although strands of other crosssectional contour can be employed. The primary requirement of an elastic strand is that it have elasticity such that it can be stretched to at least six times its normal length or more generally to about 6 to 8 times its normal length. The importance of this elasticity will be readily apparent from the following description of the use of the device in a contest between two players.

As shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing the vertical lines a, 0: denote the positions of two players standing about 8 to 9 feet apart. The strand ends 14, 14 are held in the hand by players at an elevation above the ground level 20 indicated by the double headed arrows b, b. The actual distance between the players should be adjusted so that the device 10 in the rest position suspended between them is raised from the ground by a distance, 21 of about 9 to 12 inches, or slightly below the elevation of the x marks c, c which indicate the approximate elevation of the knees of the players.

Starting from the rest position players move their hands in a generally back and forth movement as shown by the double headed arrows b, b creating oscillations or migrations of the game device 10 or progressively increasing magnitude as indicated by the zigzag path 22 until the migrations of the game device reach or pass the player locations a, a. The contest is terminated when one of the players has grasped the game device 10 between his knees or legs as seen in the dotted line showing at 10. At this point the strand end 14' is substantially extended while the strand end 14 is fully relaxed.

The game device 10 in its migratory movement as above described moves quite rapidly so that considerable dexterity is required to bring the knees together at just the right instant to grasp the moving game piece. Furthermore, the nature and extent of the migrations of the game device are influenced and altered by the hand movements of the players. Each player is doing his best to have the game device reach his knees for a possible catch while at the same time taking evasion action to prevent his opponent from accomplishing this result.

As a modification of the foregoing sequence the players may elect to catch the game device in another way, as for example between the arm and body, possibly assigning different point scores for different types of catches in line with the relative difiiculty of accomplishing them. It is even possible to adopt a point scoring similar to that in Ping-pong with the server being entitled, in each instance to the first hand movement to shift the game device from its rest position. Indeed, the number of migrations which the game device may make before it is caught by one of the players is not unlike extended volleys which characterize the game of Ping-pong.

The device can be used in a similar fashion by one player holding one end 14 of the elastic strand if the other end 14' is anchored to a suitable horizontal support below which the game device may pass. While this does not provide the fun and interest that is provided by a live opponent creating evasive action, it nevertheless can be of interest in developing skill and dexterity in catching the fast moving game device.

The device lends itself to other uses for amusement purposes, including in particular use as a jump rope. With appropriate tension on the strand 14 two persons spaced apart can rotate the device between them in typical jump rope fashion; or one person holding both strand ends 14, 14 at an appropriate length can rotate the device about his body in typical jump rope fashion. In either instance the hollow and apertured structure of the device creates a pleasant humming sound as the device is rapidly moved in a direction perpendicular to its axis.

As earlier mentioned the showing of the device in FIG. 2 of the drawing is essentially to scale for a preferred form of the device. This is approximately 1" in diameter and 6 /2" long. While this size has been found practical for both adult and child use it will be recognized that the diameter could be increased to as much as 2 and the length varied within the range of about 6 to 8 Without materially altering performance of the device.

It should also be understood that the material of construction, particularly in larger forms of the. device might be varied. Thus for example, the tubular parts 11, 11' can be molded from rubber or fashioned from fabric covered rubber to provide a resilency comparable to that of a tennis ball. In any such variations, however, the characterizing feature of the device, namely its fixed location at approximately the midpoint of an elongated and highly extendable elastic strand, would be maintained.

Various changes and modifications in the game device herein disclosed may occur to those skilled in the art, and to the extent that such changes and modifications are embraced by the appended claims it is to be understood that they constitute part of the present invention.

I claim:

1. Game device comprising an elongated elastic strand of the order of three yards in length, said strand passing through a hollow tubular member, means securing said tubular member to said strand at approximately the midpoint thereof, said securing means preventing migration of the tubular member with respect to the strand while the game device is in use, said tubular member being about 1 to 2 in diameter and 6 to 8" long and being fashioned from lightweight resilient plastic material, the ends of said tubular member being rounded and hemispherically curved and having axial openings freely receiving said strand, and the elasticity of said strand being such as to permit elongation to at least six times its normal length.

2. Game device as defined in calim 1 wherein said tubular member is in the form of two similar axially aligned parts, and a cylindrical plug frictionally engaging inner surfaces of said aligned parts to support the same in abutting relation.

3. Game device as defined in claim 2 wherein said strand is disposed between said plug and the aligned tubular parts, thereby providing the positioning means for the tubular member on said strand.

4. Game device as defined in claim 2 wherein the engagement of said parts and plug is enhanced by inwardly protruding ribs adjacent the abutting ends of said tubular parts registering with circumferential groove means on said plug.

5. Game device as defined in claim 4 wherein said strand is disposed between said plug and the aligned tubular parts and conforms to the interfitting contour of said ribs and groove means, thereby providing the positioning means for the tubular member on said strand.

6. A game device comprising: a central element fashioned from a lightweight resilient material, said central element measuring about 1 to 2 in a direction transverse to its longitudinal axis and 6 to 8" along its longitudinal axis;

an elongated elastic strand on the order of one and one-half yards in length attached to the central element and extending from One end thereof and a second elongated elastic strand on the order of one and one-half yards in length attached to the central element and extending from the opposite end thereof, the elasticity of said strands being such as to permit elongation to at least six times its normal length; and

means preventing migration of the central element with respect to the strands.

7. A game device according to claim 6 wherein said strand passes through the game piece member, the game piece member being provided with a passage therethrough generally along the longitudinal axis receiving said strand.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 148,489 3/1874 Murphy.

1,258,464 3/1918 Riley.

1,782,254 11/1930 Breidenbach.

2,066,799 1/1937 Reynolds 273-97 2,372,680 4/1945 Pitar.

2,412,519 12/1946 Kuhn 46-61 2,919,919 1/1960 Ebb.

2,958,980 11/1960 Baginski.

2,988,846 6/1961 Samuel.

3,104,877 9/1963 Gross.

3,269,727 8/1966 Samuel.

3,312,466 4/1967 Melchiona 272-82 FOREIGN PATENTS 295,070 4/1965 Netherlands.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner M. R. PAGE, Assistant Examiner 

